Costa Rica Area Info: Costa Rica's National Parks

Costa Rica's Poas Volcano: Poas: an imposing peak

ExploreCostaRica.com Poas Volcano

The Poas volcano is located only 25 miles from Costa Rica's capital San Jose. Winding roads leading into the province of Alajuela take you through fertile land and plenty of coffee plants. Rising at 2,708 meters above sea level, the volcano is within the Poas National Park, with some of the best infrastructure.

As with the Irazu volcano, its best to visit early in the morning; it can get cloudy. It can also get crowded, since it receives the largest number of visitors of any National Park in Costa Rica, next to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Central Pacific coast. As you move up the mountain the weather can get chilly so take a jacket or sweater with you in case you get cold.

From a lookout point above the crater, you can get a great overview of this Costa Rica volcano. The main crater, mesuring 1mile wide and 984 feet deep, is one of the largest in the world. Unlike the Irazu and Arenal volcanoes, Poas volcano doesn’t have strong eruptions and is one of the more accessible active volcanoes in the continent.

At the bottom of the main crater lies an acid lake rich in sulfur. Moving north you’ll find the Von Frantzius cone, the oldest eruptive center at the top of the volcano. To the Southeast, Botos Lake is formed by a rainwater-filled cone that collapsed.

More than 79 species of Costa Rica birds have been identified and can sometimes be observed along the national park. Almost a half mile of trails take visitors through a vivid landscape, rich in flora and fauna, wildflowers and a great variety of mosses, bromeliads and ferns.

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